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| V A N G U A R D |
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GAME: VANGUARD
PLATFORM: ARCADE
GENRE: ARCADE SHOOTER
CREATOR: SNK Licensed to CENTURI Copyright 1981
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
E-MAIL: kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
FAQ VERSION: 1.0
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT I: INTRODUCTION
1. Legal Stuff
2. Version Information
3. Acknowledgements
4. Welcome
5. Overview
UNIT II: GAME INFORMATION
6. The Game
6.1 The Controls
6.2 The Playing Field
6.3 Scoring
6.4 The Different Areas
UNIT III: STRATEGIES
7. Playing the Game
7.1 Cave Zone
7.2 Rainbow Zone
7.3 Stick Zone
7.4 Stripe Zone
7.5 Bleak Zone
7.6 Docking Zone
UNIT IV: CONCLUSION
8. Conclusion
_______________________________________________________________________________
To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:
1. Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2. Press CTRL-C
3. Press CTRL-F
4. Press CTRL-V
5. Press CTRL-F
5. You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.
_______________________________________________________________________________
**************
********************************* U N I T I **********************************
**************
+=================+
| 1. LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+
This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author. Use of this guide on
any other web sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2003 by
Kevin Butler. Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com
If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask. Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?". If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.
If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me. If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me. Just have Vanguard as the subject so I know it isn't another kooky
vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have new
friends.
+=========================+
| 2. VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+
Version 1.0 9/11/03: A guide is born.
+======================+
| 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+
The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:
My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
SNK for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ
+=============+
| 4. WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+
Welcome to my FAQ for Vanguard. Since the game has you continuously cycling
through space battles in a cave system, there is no walkthrough per se.
Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and strategies for making the
game last for a while. Input is appreciated along with constructive criticism.
If you wish to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing things,
other strategies, etc., feel free. Make sure you put Vanguard as the subject.
If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam.
+==============+
| 5. OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+
Vanguard was created by a company not really known in the United States.
Vanguard was a different type of shooter. Most games had the player at the
bottom of the screen shooting down aliens or had them in free space doing the
same. Vanguard has the player going through an extensive cave system which
ends with a battle with the enemy boss. With a synthesized voice telling the
player their location, and a fighter that could fire four ways, Vanguard was
definitely an innovative game. The game was licensed to Centuri, and along
with Pleiads, became SNK's contribution to the arcade world. Although Centuri
disappeared after 1981, SNK continues to produce arcade games to this day.
Good luck getting through the cave system to take on the boss.
***************
******************************** U N I T II **********************************
***************
+==============+
| 6. THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+
Vanguard is a two-dimensional, scrolling shooter style game. You are the pilot
of a fighter that must penetrate the cave system in order to reach the boss.
These caves have many different zones and enemies for you to overcome. You are
equipped with the most modern fighter available which is capable of firing in
four different directions to eliminate any enemy units that get close. The
zones won't be easy since some of them are wide open enough to maneuver freely
while others are very narrow and the slightest mistake in navigation can spell
disaster. In addition, your fighter is constantly moving so you will have to
maneuver around or destroy obstacles in your path. Maybe you should have taken
that desk job when they offered it.
____________________
/ 6.1 The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------
The controls on this game are pretty easy. The four button firing array,
though, will take some getting used to.
- An eight-way joystick
- Four buttons for firing up, down, left, and right
_________________________
/ 6.2 The Playing Field /_____________________________________________________
-------------------------
The playing field of Vanguard is pretty simple. You control your fighter
through the caves. The upper right corner has your radar showing your current
position and the bottom bar tells you how much farther through an area you must
go. An example of the playing screen is below:
+-------------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| | RADAR | |
| | +---+ | |
| | / \ / |
| |----+ +-----+ |
| +-----------------------------+
| _________________________ |
| ROUND # /\ # [_________________________] |
|_______________________________________________^___________________|
| | |
| DISTANCE LEFT TO NEXT AREA /|
|\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / |
| \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / |
| \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / |
| \/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \/ \/ |
| /\ \/ \ / \/ \/ /\ /\ |
| /\ \/ /\ /\ |
| /\ ____/<-ENEMY FIGHTER \/ \/|
| \ \/ /\ /\ /\|
| ----<-YOUR FIGHTER /\ / \ / \ / |
| / \/ / \ / \ / \ / |
| \/ /\ / \ / \ / \ / |
| /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / |
| / \ / \ / \ / \/ \/ |
| / \ / \ / \/ |
| / \ / \/ |
| / \/ |
|/ |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
You control your fighter to destroy or avoid the enemy ships and ground
targets.
___________________________
/ 6.3 Scoring and Sectors /___________________________________________________
---------------------------
Scoring in this game is relatively easy. Some areas have things that have
random scores. I will list the actual name of said enemy followed by a
description and its score.
Mist - Bouncing starship : 70 points
Harley - Fighter : 50 points
Helm - White UFO : 80 points
Amno - Pink UFO : 100 points
Base I, II, III - Buildings : 100 - 400 points
Garine - Bouncing aliens : 100 - 400 points
Barrier - Energy barrier : 800 points
Kemlus - "C" shaped worms : 100 - 400 points
Romeda - Arrow shaped ships : 100 points
Gond - Boss at end of round : 1,000 - 8,000 points
If you go into the debris left from the Kemlus, a backward "C" will surround
your fighter and you will get 1,090 points. You can do this three times.
After the third time, if you try this, your fighter will be destroyed.
You start with three fighters and you earn an extra fighter at 10,000 and
50,000 points.
___________________________
/ 6.4 The Different Areas /___________________________________________________
---------------------------
There are two types of cave systems in Vanguard. They interchange with each
other during each round. For example, you will have cave one during round one,
cave two during round two, cave one during round three, etc. Within each of
these cave systems are specific zones. Within each of these zones are
different areas where you will encounter different types of enemies. Below are
shown the two types of cave systems, the zones, and the areas within each.
This is the legend that will be used for both of these caves (see Chapter 6.3
for descriptions of the enemies):
THE ZONES: THE ENEMIES:
C = Cave Zone M = Mist G = Garine
R = Rainbow Zone Ha = Harley Ba = Barrier
Sk = Stick Zone He = Helm K = Kemlus
Sr = Stripe Zone A = Amno R = Romeda
B = Bleak Zone B = Base I, II, and/or III Go = Gond
D = Docking Zone
+--------+
| CAVE 1 |
+--------+
Below is the layout for cave one:
--- / \
| / \
D \ /
| \ /
--- | --
| B2
| --
| B1
|Sk1 |Sk2 | | --
+--------+ / + \
/ R2 \ R3 / R6
/ \ \ / / \
/ R1 \ R4 / R5
---------------------+ \ +--------------------------+\
|-- C1 ---||-- C2 ---| |----------- Sr -----------|
Enemies per area:
C1 - M
C2 - H firing on you
R1 - He three at a time
R2 - He six at a time
Sk1 - M firing on you
Sk2 - H firing on you
R3 - A three at a time
R4 - A six at a time
Sr - B, G, Ba eight to ten times
R5 - He three at a time
R6 - He six at a time
B1 - K
B2 - R
D - Go
+--------+
| CAVE 2 |
+--------+
--- / \
| / \
D \ /
| \ /
--- | --
| B2
| --
| B1
| --
+ \
/ R2
/ \
/ R1
-----------------------------------------------------------------+\
|-- C1 ---||-- C2 ---||-- Sk1 --||-- Sk2 --||-------- Sr --------|
Enemies per area:
C1 - H firing on you
C2 - M
Sk1 - H firing on you
Sk2 - M firing on you
Sr - B, G, Ba eight to ten times
R1 - He three at a time
R2 - He six at a time
B1 - K
B2 - R
D - Go
****************
******************************** U N I T III *********************************
****************
+======================+
| 7. PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+
When you start the game, your fighter, will be at the left side of the screen.
Keep in mind, this is a scrolling game. This means you can go no faster then
the right side and no slower then the left side. You can, however, vary your
speed in-between by pushing the joystick back and forth. The biggest key in
getting through this game is learning how to use the joystick to speed up and
slow down because you will sometimes be put into some very tight areas that
will require precision joystick control. What I have done is break down the
areas and some strategies for getting through them. There is no break between
the areas, but you can pretty much tell what area you are in by the landscape
and/or the enemies.
_________________
/ 7.1 Cave Zone /_____________________________________________________________
-----------------
This zone is pretty straightforward. The cave is wide enough for you to
maneuver out of harms way.
- There should be no reason that you can't go through both areas energized.
The energy stations are abundant in the cave zone.
- The Harley's like to group up in packs of five or six. They will fire on
you and an occasional Harley will break from the pack to try to ram your
fighter. They usually stay on one level and don't move around a lot. Very
easy to evade.
- The Mist's are a different matter. They move around all over the area and
they are rather difficult to hit. You will have to use your lasers from
different sides very effectively.
____________________
/ 7.2 Rainbow Zone /__________________________________________________________
--------------------
In these zones you will be going diagonal up or diagonal down. The first part
only has three aliens while the second part of the zone has six aliens moving
up and down.
- On the diagonal up parts, get your fighter in between the second and third
aliens during the first part. Reverse this on the diagonal down parts.
- On the second part, you will have to get in between the fourth and fifth
aliens. You may have to use your top laser to clear out the alien above
since the top three alternate with the bottom three. Reverse this on the
diagonal down parts.
__________________
/ 7.3 Stick Zone /____________________________________________________________
------------------
There are no energy stations in this zone so you will have to do some quick
maneuvering and firing in all directions. This area also narrow significantly.
Use the same tactics from the Cave Zone.
___________________
/ 7.4 Striped Zone /___________________________________________________________
-------------------
You only have to deal with ground targets in this zone. This, though, is the
problem since those targets are clustered very close together.
- You should be able to go through this area energized since energy stations
are abundant in the lower parts of this zone.
- If you aren't energized, make sure you decided quickly to go high or low.
If you go high, you deal with bases and Garines (bouncing aliens). This
can be rough if you mistime it. The bottom has more targets but you must
destroy the barrier. You do this by destroying the upper or lower stand
that fires it up.
- This zone lasts a while but the pattern remains the same.
__________________
/ 7.5 Bleak Zone /____________________________________________________________
------------------
You will be going up instead of sideways. The scrolling now is you can't go
faster then the top of the screen or slower then the bottom of the screen.
- Enemies on this screen are actually pretty easy to get through. Just stay
in the middle and keep firing. The Romeda may give you trouble since they
like to fire left diagonal shots.
- Try for the Kemlus bonus, as talked about in Chapter 6.3. Just remember not
to do it more then three times.
____________________
/ 7.6 Docking Zone /__________________________________________________________
--------------------
This is for all the marbles. There are many hazards to avoid as you try to
take out Gond.
- First, as you enter there are lasers to your left and right. You must
quickly get into the second part. Gond is protected by two layers that
have openings. These openings line up for only brief moments. Try to take
shots through this opening.
- After a short amount of time, walls will close behind your fighter. You
only have a limited amount of time because there are five walls and if they
close before you take out Gond, you lose your fighter.
- The only good thing is if you fail to take out Gond, you advance to the next
round. Of course, you don't get the bonus for Gond.
After you make it through each set of cave one and cave two, the action gets
faster.
****************
******************************** U N I T IV *********************************
****************
+================+
| 8. CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+
This game ranks as one of my favorite games. The synthesized speech and music
definitely made this game. In addition, the action is fast paced and there
really doesn't seem to be anywhere for one to "catch their breath". This
seemed to be a popular game because it was different. I think, by that time,
the static space shooters were starting to wear thin and we needed something
that had more of a punch to it. Vanguard didn't disappoint since the pace of
the action picked up as you progressed through the game. Unfortunately, it is
very rare to find this machine anywhere. However, through the miracle of
emulation, a whole new generation is realizing what we "old" folks enjoyed
those many years ago. In addition, www.shockwave.com is bringing many of these
classic games back. Check out their site to see what ones are there. I hope
this guide helps you in being able to get the most amount of gameplay for this
game. If you do have other ideas or thoughts, please e-mail me and share them.
Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if enough people ask
the same questions. Anyway, thank you again for reading this guide.
To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html
~~~ No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~